On-Farm
Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy
How do we produce and use energy? Farmers across the country are paying closer
attention to that question.
Speaking at a farm energy conference sponsored by the National Center for Appropriate
Technology
(NCAT), Montana organic grain farmer Jon Tester summed up his concerns about
farm energy. “Being an organic
farmer,” he said, “I don’t worry about increased fertilizer
or herbicide prices, because I have a cropping system
that works well without those inputs. But if there’s a big price spike
or a shortage of diesel fuel, I’m up a creek
without a paddle.”

NCAT—ATTRA’s
parent organization—was
founded 29 years ago to promote energy-saving techniques, many
of them simple and inexpensive. The methods are pretty well worked out now,
and on-farm tinkering will
perfect them. The time is right to put all those great ideas to work on America’s
farms and get serious about
energy conservation and renewable energy. You can call NCAT’s specialists
at 800-346-9140 for information
about how to make your farm more energy efficient.—Karen Van Epen,
ATTRAnews editor

Remote or
off-grid power sources—including solar panels, mechanical windmills,
and portable generators—can pump water for livestock in locations
where electricity from power lines is unavailable. By encouraging animals to
move away from lakes and streams, these systems give livestock greater access
to forage. They also reduce livestock pressure on stream banks, preventing
nutrient loading, damage to streamside vegetation, erosion, and pollution.

Solar pumping
is a natural match for summer grazing applications, since it produces the greatest
volumes of water in sunny weather and during long summer days—exactly when animals need water the most.

This solar pumping system on the Hirsch Ranch
near Deer Lodge moves cattle away from Racetrack
Creek, an important trout-spawning stream.

Many people
who consider a solar water pumping system may balk at the initial expense.
Looking at the big picture gives a better idea of the actual cost.
For one thing, utility line extensions commonly cost $10,000 to $30,000
or more
per mile. One rule of thumb is that remote pumping (whether solar-, wind-,
or
generator-powered) is worth considering whenever the distance from the
utility grid exceeds about one-half mile. Where power lines are readily available,
they will generally provide the cheapest source of power.

Ballard
Ranch
Lavina, Montana
When their old water-pumping windmill finally died, Jim and Adele Ballard
installed a solar pumping system to replace it. The new system pumps
water from a 65-foot-deep well to a pair of stock tanks holding about 4,000
gallons. Four 80-watt photovoltaic modules on a tracking rack provide power
to a submersible piston pump that delivers a maximum flow rate of 5.5 gallons
per minute, enough to water 100 cow/calf pairs. The system produces average
flows of 2,000 to 3,000 gallons per day during the summer months. 2002 solar
component costs: $5,500.

Hirsch Ranch
Racetrack, Montana
Rick and Pam Hirsch installed
a solar pumping system on a 10-
foot-deep well to water 36 cow/calf
pairs. The pumping system uses two
64-watt photovoltaic modules, a passive
tracking rack, and a submersible
diaphragm pump equipped with a
sand shroud and low-water cut-off
electrodes to protect the pump. The
system is designed to produce flows
of 2,600 to 2,800 gallons per day during
the summer months. 2002 solar
component costs: $2,400.

Reaping What We Sow: A Long-Range View of Farm-Based Renewable Energy

by
Al Kurki, NCAT Program Specialist

You hear
a lot of talk about the tail-pipe and light-socket benefits of renewable
energy: reduced dependence on foreign
oil, far less pollution, greenhouse gas
reduction, regenerative production, and
so on. We at NCAT want to find the answers
to a new round of questions about biofuels, biomass, and to some extent,
wind development.

Are these
farm-based renewable energy paths really sustainable? Do they preserve soil
and provide a decent livelihood for farmers? How accessible are renewable energy
technologies for a wide array of farmers and ranchers? Are they suitable for
small- and medium-sized farms?

What are
we learning as more wind and biofuel development takes place? What is really
working for farmers? Where are the energy “weak links” in
our
food, fiber, and biofuels systems, including organic and no-till? Are we overlooking
conservation in our emphasis on renewable energy production?

NCAT’s vision is that the current corn-based ethanol production will
be a
transition to more sustainable bio-energy production. Biofuel crops will be
raised within soil-building rotations, not in extractive, industrial-style
monocultures.
Farmers and other rural people will see real gains in their incomes and
quality of life. They will not merely provide commodity products at the lowest
possible price.

There are
now active models of every form of renewable energy development,
of shortening food supply lines, and of farm-based carbon sequestration.
At this
point we should be able to learn what is working well for farmers and the
environment,
and what sort of trade-offs have to be rejected or accepted.

NCAT is
crafting a project to make sure we fully understand and use the principles
of sustainability as we develop renewable energy. The Reaping What We Sow Project
will combine grassroots efforts, regional gatherings, and possibly a
national conference.

We’d like to hear what you think about all this. What questions come
to
mind? What other factors need to be looked at? Would you like to be involved
or be kept posted? Please direct your comments to Al Kurki, alk@ncat.org,
(406) 449-0104.

Biodiesel—A Primer

A soybean farmer fills his truck with biodiesel.

Excerpted
from the 2004
publication by NCAT Program Specialist Dave Ryan.

Biodiesel
fuel can be made in any quantity, from a cup or so up to many gallons.
Since it is better to make small mistakes than big mistakes, I encourage people
interested in making biodiesel to start with small batches and gradually work
up
to making larger batches.

If you
have access to inexpensive oil or grease, such as a by-product of some
process, it may be quite cost-effective for you to manufacture your own fuel
from these by-products. Although you may have to pay for waste vegetable
oil,
you can often get it free from restaurants. Shop around. Smaller restaurants
may
let you pick up waste oil in buckets, if you provide exchange buckets. Find
out
when the fryer oil is to be changed, and pick it up warm if you can. To get
the
best quality oil, talk to the restaurant owner and, more importantly, to
the head
cook, and let them know what you are doing and what you need. If you do not
make a mess and are conscientious, most restaurant owners will be happy to
work with you.

The Realities of Wind Energy

by
Corky Brittan
Corky Brittan is a Montana philosopher as well as a rancher—“the
two least lucrative activities known to mankind,” he says—who
has long experience in the wind industry. This article is excerpted
from his presentation at the recent Harvesting Clean Energy Conference
in Great Falls, Montana, where he displayed the philosopher’s
skill to distinguish between appearance and reality.

Small wind turbines, like this grid-connected Bergey 10kW Excel, can provide supplemental power for farms and ranches.

For
most people, a small (1 to 18 kilowatt) turbine is going
to make little economic sense, particularly if it is connected
to the grid. By my calculations, unless you can somehow
factor in some very significant tax savings, a small wind
turbine will not pay for itself within ten years. To do that,
you need to install a wind turbine for less than $750 per
kilowatt. Any good small wind turbine—and there are
several on the market—will cost $1,500 to
$3,000 per installed kilowatt.

But
that doesn’t mean that you can’t
have other good reasons for installing
a small wind turbine. It is an excellent
hobby. It provides a hedge against the inflation of retail energy
prices. You know now what you will pay for fuel inputs in
100 years: nothing. It allows you the kind
of independence and self-sufficiency
once common in the West, and now all
but disappeared. It makes a statement
for renewable and clean energy production—
important whatever the scale.

Many,
if not most, people over-estimate
the strength of the wind on their
own places. I’m regularly told that “it
blows like crazy around here,” and occasionally
that they have to fasten their
seat belt when they sit down on the toilet
in the winter. But in fact nothing takes
the place of real data. Begin with a wind
map. You can find them on the Internet (www.nrel.gov).
Then put up an anemometer to record wind data.

There
are two things you absolutely need to know when you start thinking
about installing a small wind turbine. First, you need to know
the quantity (how much usable wind) and the quality (wind curve,
prevailing direction, sheer, turbulence) of the local wind regime.
Two, you need to know what your load will be, how much electrical
power you consume. Some people, very few, know how much
they pay for electricity. But I have yet to meet anyone who
knows how much electricity they use in the course of a
year. The point is, you need to determine the load before
you start thinking about turbine size. Load and size should
be related.

If
you want to connect to the grid,
you need to know how close the electrical
transmission and distribution lines
are to the place where you are going to
install the turbine. Most turbines require
a three-phase interconnection. Running
new three-phase any distance becomes
very expensive very quickly.

Getting
started small-scale in the wind
business is much easier now than when
I first installed a 65-kilowatt turbine on
our ranch 21 years ago. The U.S. Department
of Energy puts out all kinds of
useful brochures. You have unlimited
amounts of Internet information. Almost
every town of any size has businesses
which first advise you and then install
wind and solar equipment.

Otherwise,
it’s just a matter of following
these steps: do the basics (wind
regime, load, and transmission), decide
whether you want to supply all or part of your own needs
(on a net-metering basis) or sell power to others (possibly
a neighbor as well as the utility), contact someone knowledgeable
about the details, and see your banker. With a
cash flow schedule in hand, most banks will now loan you
the money you need.

How Leaks and Worn Sprinkler Nozzles Cost You Money

Photo
by Jeff Vanuga, USDA NRCS.

Excerpted
from Water Management and Equipment Maintenance: The
Montana Irrigator’s Pocket Guide. This little pocket guide
is overflowing with practical ways
to save water, soil, and energy. The ideas are useful far beyond
Montana. The guide is
available free of charge from NCAT by calling 800-346-9140.

Many
producers aren’t very concerned about leaks and worn nozzles
because
“the water ends up on the field anyway.” What they don’t
realize is that leaks
and worn nozzles reduce system pressure and pump efficiency, cause
poor
water distribution, and increase electrical
demand and energy costs. Leaks
can overload motors and shorten motor
life. Just a tiny bit of nozzle wear (a few
thousandths of an inch) can cause a big
increase in sprinkler output. Depending
on your system’s efficiency and your
electricity costs, those worn sprinkler
nozzles can cost you hundreds of dollars
over the course of a season.

ATTRAnews is the bi-monthly newsletter of the
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. The newsletter
is distributed free throughout the United States to farmers,
ranchers, Cooperative Extension agents, educators and others
interested in sustainable agriculture. ATTRA is funded through
the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service and is a project
of the National Center for Appropriate
Technology (NCAT), a private,
non-profit organization that since 1976 has helped people by
championing small-scale, local and sustainable solutions to reduce
poverty, promote healthy communities, and protect natural resources.